Reusable grocery bags may contain lead

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - They're supposed to keep the environment safe, but tests show they could be harming you. Experts say there could be lead in reusable bags from grocery stores, and it's causing concern among health professionals.

Tests showed the brightly-colored green grocery bags were not as green as they looked, at least not from an environmental standpoint. High amounts of lead were showing up in those bags, which could lead to contamination when they are disposed of.

The first retailer to take action against the lead-tainted reusable bags was Wegman's. High levels of lead were showing up in their "Sweet Pea" bags and their "2009 Holiday" bags, which Wegman's removed from their racks back in September.

Wegman's spokesman Ann McCarthy said, "No concern about the lead from a food safety concern. As reusable bags they really never intended to be storage containers. The concern was environmental only."

Wegman's is now allowing customers to exchange the tainted bags for safe ones.

Kelly Dick said, "And they gave me fresh bags, and apparently the rest of them are safe for us, so as long as they're replaced with ones that have low lead for us, then that's all that matters to me."

The bags, all made in China, prompted U.S. Senator Charles Schumer to call for a federal ban on lead-laced grocery bags immediately.

Sen. Schumer said, "And we are also asking them to begin a comprehensive investigation into bag manufacturers to make sure no other manufacturers are selling reusable bags to grocery stores with high levels of lead."

The grocery bag alarm was first sounded by a Rochester consumer activist, Judy Braiman, grandmother of nine, and president of the Empire State Consumer Project.

Braiman said, "I'm always looking. Every place I go, I'm looking. It's just in-bred in me now."

Testing of the bags from Wegman's and several other retailers was conducted at a nearby lab with Wegman's bags showing lead levels well above the standards set in New York and 18 other states. Braiman is pushing for a national standard.

Braiman said, "Take the "Toxics in Packaging" law that we already have in 19 states and try to make this uniform throughout the whole country."

The Rochester lab also tested reusable bags from Tops Markets for lead. Braiman said they tested two types of their bags and the levels were well below the limits allowed by law.